Middle School After-School Program

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Fairfax County School Board to
Kick Off Middle School After-School Program Expansion

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E.
Connolly and Fairfax County School Board Chairman Ilryong Moon will kick off the expanded Fairfax County
Middle School After-School Program on Wednesday, April 19, at 4 p.m., at
Luther Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church.

Currently, eight middle schools are in the process of expanding their
after-school programs from three days a week to five days a week through
a partnership between the Fairfax County Department of Community and
Recreation Services and the Fairfax County Public Schools After-School
Program Office. Four additional schools recently hired coordinators to
expand their after-school programs, with the remaining 14 scheduled to be
hired by the end of June. Expanded after-school programs are scheduled to
be operational in all 26 county middle schools for the beginning of the
2006-2007 school year.

“The expansion of the after-school program in middle schools is
critical to the Board of Supervisors’ ongoing efforts to
prevent our children from joining gangs,” said Connolly. “Providing young
people, especially middle-school students, with constructive, safe
activities reduces the opportunities for gang recruitment. We know that
students are most vulnerable during the hours between when students leave
school and parents come home from work. The after-school program helps
young people develop academic and other skills in a safe and caring
environment.”

According to Moon, “Research indicates that high-quality after-school
programs can markedly increase engagement in learning and that students
who are engaged in learning behave better in school and have better work
habits, improved attitudes toward school, a greater sense of belonging to
the community and better relationships with their parents.”

Today, nearly 70 percent of Fairfax County families have dual working
parents or a single working parent. A majority of middle school
youth are latchkey children who return to empty houses at the end of the
regular school day.

“When the school bell rings, the anxiety of parents often just begins,”
said Luther Jackson Middle School Principal Carol Robinson. “They worry
about whether their children are safe and whether they are susceptible to
youth violence and gang activity, alcohol, tobacco and drug use, and
crime.”

In response to this concern, the Board of Supervisors earmarked $3.5
million to expand the after-school program in all 26 county middle
schools. This new investment builds on an ongoing effort in Fairfax
County to provide high-quality after-school activities for middle school
youth through the collaborative efforts of the School Board, the Board of
Supervisors, school-community coalitions and the Fairfax Partnership for
Youth.

The after-school programs will operate five days a week for at least two
hours following the close of school in most schools. The following middle
schools currently have expanded programs: Jackson, Glasgow, Herndon, Key,
Lake Braddock, Liberty, Poe and South County. The following schools
should have programs underway by the end of the school year: Whitman,
Kilmer, Thoreau and Longfellow. Expanded after-school programs are to be
in operation at the remaining schools by the beginning of the next school
year.

Fairfax County is committed to nondiscrimination on the basis of
disability in all county programs, services and activities. To request
this information in an alternate format, call the Office of Public
Affairs at 703-324-3187, TTY 711.